BW: Workplace Experts, Gensler, and LBA Form the Pro-bono Team to Deliver Your Space for the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust
BW: Workplace Experts is thrilled to have delivered the fit-out for Your Space; an evolution of the design of the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford, London. The successful delivery of this project for the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust (SLCT) is the result of a close collaboration with SLCT, the global architecture, design and planning firm Gensler and branding agency LBA, all donating their time and expertise to create Your Space, a mindful co-working environment designed to empower, inspire and support its users. The new space represents progression; aiding the Trust in its vision to grow their work and secure Stephen’s legacy. Embracing natural daylight, connectivity and the need for collaboration, the design is an evolution of the enduring emotional response the centre evokes. With an open and bright interior concept, the new co-working hub is a manifestation of the emotional and physical healing process that the Trust’s represents..
Working across all three floors of the building, including the co-working space, the reception and the café area, Gensler focused on opening up the space to create a feeling of collaboration and flexibility within the co-working facility, whilst being sensitive to and retaining the spatial purity created the original design.
BW managed a total of 48 sub-contractors and 34 suppliers throughout the project, all of whom committed time and money to the project. This required fastidious planning and numerous meetings to ensure the smooth running of the build and maintaining the highest standards. This approach paid off with the delivery of a Defect Free Scheme at Practical Completion.
Sonia Watson, Chief Executive of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, said: “As we celebrate 20 years of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust and commemorate 25 years since Stephen’s death we are also looking to the future and how the legacy of the Trust can be secured going forward. We feel Your Space is an excellent next step to realising the Trust’s vision and mission, offering entrepreneurs an affordable space for their businesses to grow, while all proceeds are reinvested into the Trust to support our work of providing training and inspiration to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. I’d like the extend a heartfelt thank you to all parties involved, including the team at BW, whose tireless work on the fit-out of Your Space has created a welcoming, spacious and flexible working space, which we are excited to open today.”
Peter Flynn, Contracts Manager at BW: Workplace Experts comments: “This was a tremendously satisfying project to be involved in, it is a space that makes a difference. The refurbishment of this building will have a huge impact on the young adults looking to become architects, as well as offering training and mentoring to a number of high profile companies within the architectural world.”
Steve Elliott, CEO of BW: Workplace Experts comments: “It has been a privilege to have joined forces with Gensler and LBA to deliver this project for the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. I have no doubt that this co-working space will support and inspire the next generation in a very practical way.”
Gensler’s lead designer on the project, Chris Crawford, said: “Seeing the emotional reaction of the staff and alumni at the Centre to the reworked space, and knowing what a difference it will make, has been incredibly rewarding. I feel very privileged to be in a position to support talented young people achieve their aims, and that’s made this project so worthwhile and meaningful. We hope the new design will inspire those who experience it, as we have been inspired by working on it.”
Adrian Goldthorpe, CEO of LBA, comments: “For our team, this project has given us a unique opportunity to come together and grow as a team. I don’t think there is a single person in the office who did not contribute at one point or another to developing Your Space’s identity. There is an unparalleled sense of fulfillment that we all feel for having had the opportunity to contribute to the launch, cemented by the friendships we are proud to have developed with the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust and their partners. It is with great confidence that we look forward to hearing the awe-inspiring achievements of the Trust and Your Space in the future.”
The launch of Your Space will help the Trust to take a new step towards realising its vision and mission by opening up to entrepreneurs and start-ups by providing them with affordable spaces to develop their ideas and create valuable support networks. The opening coincides with a range of high profile activities organised by the Trust to commemorate Stephen and celebrate the good that has been achieved in his name.
About Your Space: Your Space is London’s latest co-working space for entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses; where creativity thrives and innovation & collaboration are a part of the very fabric of the space.
Your Space enables the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust to take a new step towards realising its vision & mission by opening up to entrepreneurs & providing them with affordable spaces to develop their ideas & create valuable support networks.
Housed within the Stephen Lawrence Centre, the Your Space interior has been re-imagined by the team at Gensler to provide a co-working space that will inspire architects, designers and creatives.
The Your Space website is now live for registrations of interest: http://yourspacecoworking.com
About BW: Driven by innovation and characterised by transparency, personality and fit out expertise, London-based BW brings a commitment to delivering defect-free fit out and refurbishment projects to London and the south of England. Visit wearebw.com to view some recently completed projects, our externally facing team and some recent company news. www.wearebw.com
About Gensler: Gensler is a global design firm that partners with clients to create more liveable cities, smarter workplaces and more engaging leisure destinations. Our 5,000 professionals networked across 47 locations believe quality design can transform organisations and improve people’s lives. Since 1965, we have helped clients achieve measurable business and organisational goals, delivering projects as large as a city and as small as a task light for an individual desk. www.gensler.com
About LBA: LBA is an international team of Problem Solvers, who help maximise and leverage the value of businesses brand portfolios. Primarily based in London but hailing from Australia, China, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Italy, Russia, Turkey, and beyond, LBA specialise in Strategic and Creative solutions for businesses and brands. With skills and experience ranging from Portfolio Strategy and Brand Architecture, through to Insight and Innovation, as well as Brand Identity and Packaging, LBA refuse to be defined by traditional discipline but rather by beliefs and approach. www.lba-branding.co.uk
About Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust: We believe that every person, regardless of their background, should have the opportunity and support to flourish in a society that treats them with fairness and respect.
The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust works with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds aged 13 to 30 to inspire and enable them to succeed in the career of their choice. It also works to create a fairer society in which everyone, regardless of their background, can flourish.
Over the last 20 years we’ve worked with thousands of young people – ranging from 13-year olds getting their first taste of what different careers might involve, through to people in their early 20s building the skills they need to get a job, from mentoring, training and work placements to giving bursaries to students who would otherwise struggle to stay in education.
This year marks the 25th Anniversary of Stephen’s murder and the 20th year since the foundation of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. The Trust is commemorating him by celebrating the good that is being done in his name. Your Space is one of a number of new initiatives undertaken this year to help raise awareness of and funds for the vital work of the Trust. www.stephenlawrence.org.uk
